Breaking Bad: "Phoenix" Review

The Walt-Jesse tension builds just a little higher before the finale.

They say if you introduce a gun in the first act, you better use it by the third. Jane, at about the halfway mark, mentioned to Jesse that he should sleep on his side in case of vomiting (a great parallel minutes later when Walt explains the same thing about his baby girl and spitting up) and by the end of the episode, she spits up after Walt pushes her onto her back. Jane dies, going out in a blaze of glory. Walt standing idly while she chokes ... well, he just gets a little more evil with each episode, doesn't he?

We found out in "Phoenix" that Jesse is, in fact, much smarter than we've given him credit. He figured out that Walt had taken the stash after coming out from his heroin coma—and quickly. If only he were a stronger individual. He still doesn't have that backbone yet, as evidenced in this episode from beginning to end, but maybe Jane's death brings about a metamorphosis. He did throw that beaker when Walt insulted her, maybe that was his first step. Could he be behind the explosion in the next episode?

Overall, "Phoenix" was a very good episode that could stand on its own. It was mostly about dealing with addicts, addicts that you're close to, and it toed the realism line wonderfully when neither Walt nor Jane's dad correctly handled the situation. I liked their conversation in the bar. "Phoenix" also furthered the Walt-Jesse tension, made Jane a wedge in it, showed Jesse as the semi-spineless loser that he is while also giving him his fair share of the money and gave us the beautiful baby girl. Plus, Walt got his dang payday, cash in hand. Everything about this episode was used to push tension one step further for the finale.

As has been the case in the opening three episodes of this year, Breaking Bad has worked a mini-arc in three episodes and "Phoenix" and "Mandala" have been the two building blocks leading to the precipice. There's a great deal of set-up, all season and all series, for what's coming up next and Breaking Bad has shown it handles with care. What we're in store for is anyone's guess at this point, there are just enough red herrings. How does the explosion from the Pink Bear clips occur? How does Walt turn his money legit? Are the bodies in the body bags Jesse and Jane? If they are, how does Walt even begin to explain this to the police? To his family?

"Phoenix," along with the Pink Bear scenes gave hints to a few possible answers. The money may get burned up in the explosion—or maybe Walt stashes the cash, forces the explosion as some problem with the new water heater and claims the money comes from the insurance company. The glasses are just glasses, Walt could have left them in a room by mistake, and the season better not end with killing Walt. It's a lot like that old show, Let's Make a Deal where they show three curtains and behind one is a moderately priced car, behind another is like a dishwasher or something, and behind the final curtain is a beat-up car covered in dust. They've kinda given us a peak without telling us which curtain they'll pull back.

As for guesses, the obvious culprits for those body bags are Jane and Jane's dad. They're useless at this point and Jane's dad is already mad at Jesse, who's going to tell him about his daughter? The second body could also be Jesse, though. Although Jesse turning it around, going clean and trying to make this drug business work would be interesting, he has outlived his usefulness to our anti-hero. The cataclysmic explosion of the rising tension between the two of them would reach a crescendo in the finale and Walt would be able to move on without the dead weight. But we could be thrown a curveball. If it's Gus and Saul—and the money is incinerated—Walt starts back at square one, a theme that has occurred and recurred a few times. If it's someone in his family, God forbid, then it calls into question what Walt has done and he'll have to deal with the horrifying grief (though, frankly, I don't think that'd make for good TV). The only person I know it can't be is Hank, because the tension arc between him and Walt is too good and nobody wants that to end (plus, Hank owns). And Walt, though wouldn't it be kinda cool if it were Walt and Jesse in there and the explosion is caused by Pinkman doing something stupid? That'd probably kill a lot interest in the show, but it would be all too familiar, and yet a complete surprise. Then Pandora's Box is opened in season 3, the family finds out what he's been up to … maybe that's better for the series finale.

I guess what I'm saying is that there's so many different ways this could go and the writers, producers, directors, et al, have knowingly tipped their hat at us all season. Yes, this could happen, they say, but so could this. So could this too. Any and all of these situations would leave a huge cliffhanger for next season. It'd be like walking to the top of a mountain and then noticing there's another mountain on top of it. Half the fun about Breaking Bad this season has been wondering what the Pink Bear scenes would entail; what they would mean for the next season and now we're an episode away from it and we still don't know. The only thing we do know is s**t's going down.

Props to the AMC marketing department, who, in their advertisements for the show, haven't been beating us over the head with the body bags and the Pink Bear scenes. They've stoked our interest without resorting to FOX's tactics of brazen Sweeps Week "whodunit" 30-second commercials and sometimes pulled little switcheroos on us. I think I speak for all Breaking Bad fans when I say I'm really looking forward to this finale.